Ignition apparatus



` April 9,19355 T. Fl'rzslMMoNs m3531459` IGNITION APPARATUS originai Filed Deo. 11, 1951 Patented Apr. 9, 1935 APAriaur OFFICE q aware y y Application neeember 11,1931, serial No. 580,311

' i Renewed July 7,1934 .i y,

`This invention relates to ignition apparatus o for internal combustion engines and more particularly to Vignition apparatus'for controlling the ,ignition timing in response `to engine speed 5 conditions.

It is one of the objects of the present inventionA to provide certain improvements in devices ofthe type referred to in `which the camshaft is rotatably supported in one housing and the `driven shaft is rotatably supprtedin another housing, the two `shafts being 4operatively connected by engine speedresponsive means for o varying the angular relation between thelcam shaft and the driven shaft, and in which'one of the shafts is provided with means whereby the o `axis of each shaft need not bein absolute valignment with thev other. This is accomplished by providing a `device comprising "a drivenl s'ha'ft having an axial bore,` a camshaft piloted within said drivenshaft operativelyconnected with and capablel of rotaryfmovement relative 4to, said `driv- 1 en shaft, bearing means in each housing for rotatably supportingjrespectively one end `of `said `driven shaftandlcam shaftgand' means on the cam shaftpiloted withinsaid driven shaft`to permit lateral movement of said` cam shaft` with Arespect to said driven shaftin which the device' `is `operated in' an efficient manner.

" ther objects and advantages of `panying drawing wherein a preferred embodiclearly shown.` In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is `a vertical sectional viewof an ignition o o o o shaft 35. One ofthe studs 44 is provided with timer embodying r "the present invention. N Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional viewst ken lines 2-1-2 and3-'3 oflig.` 1. Fig.` 4 is a fragmentary side view on the er eeen shea mounted` withiny thedriven shaft, eeen `shaft j being shown on a differentaxis withl respect to each` other. 2 o o Referring tothe drawingthe ignition device is `shown comprising a lower` housingV I5 having an opening provided `with ,an annular recess` I6 substantially in coaxial yalignment with afsh'ank r I 1 provided by thefhousing.` The'shank II is adapted to fit intoan opening provided in an en- 1 gine housing orcrankcase, not shown. The shank I1 of the housing ishollowvto receive a bearing I8 to rotatably supportadrive shaft IS'provided o' with an axial recess or bore 20. The shaft' I9 is limited `in its downward movement by washers.`

,r 2 I and 22 resting upon the` upper end of a boss of engine driven shaft of I the shaft "I3 within the housing 2| supports ya plate 31 upon whichare mounted a plurality of vWeight members, each weight member being provided with a finger 39 each of which is adapted torcooperate with an arm'III of a spider 4I. The

the present I invention will be lapparent from the following" descriptionLreference being had to the accom-1" ries a gear adapted to mesh with a gear driven `by the engine so that the shaft maybe driven in` a definite time relation thereto. r o Atimer housing is supported in the annular recess lprovided' by` the housing I5. Thehous- .ing is secured in the recesslt` by screws 28` having `threaded engagement with the housing 2|. The housing is provided with a partition 3I1having an apertured centrally extending portion 32 inwhicha bearing 33 is contained. A supporting plate 34 rests on the surface ofthe partition and y holds the bearing 33 within the portion 32. The fbe'aring 33"rotatably supports the upper end of a cam shaft 35 as at `36 and the other endof the cam shaft is supported within the Aaxial bore 20 I9. The upper end spiderjI i'sdrive-fitte'd upon a knurled intermediate portion`35a of the cam shaft 3E and staked over or deformed in any other suitable manner, to'hold thejspider'upon the intermediate portion 35a. `The Weight members38 are normally maintained in position shown in Fig. 2, byrspringslZ each connected at one end to a stud secured to the plate 31, each of the studs 43k forming a pivotfor the weights 38. The other "end of the springs 42 are attached to `studs 44 secured to the arms of the spider 4I and in this way tends to move the weight 38 "toward the extended portionv 45 adapted to project into an arcuate slot 46 provided in the plate 31. The portion 45 cooperates with anend of the slot 46 to" limit the extreme' outward movement of the weights 38.1 'e

" Theupper endof the camshaft 35 supports a `timer cam V50.` The `camsupports a distributor rotor 5 I. `'Ihecain cooperates withA rubbing blocks provided on a plurality of circuit interrupters each having a breaker lever 52 provided With a movable `contact cooperating with a stationary contact. These contacts are arranged" in the usual manner, as is well known to those skilled in the` art, `to control the passage of current to an ignition coil, andfurther description is deemed unnecessary.l

4'l'he housing supports a distributor head 60 providing ajcover therefor, a distributor head having two high tension terminals 6I and 52 and a plurality of terminals 63 in a circular row. The terminals 63 are adapted to be connected with respective spark plugs of an engine (not shown). A circular conductor track 65 is provided in the distributor head, the track being in electrical connection with the terminal 52. The rotor 5I carried by the cam 50 `is provided with oppositely disposed arms angularly arranged; one arm carriesa conductor strip 66; the other arm carries a conductor` strip 61. Strip 66 is electrically connected with terminal 62, through a button 68 and the metallic track 55, while `the strip 61 is electrically connected to terminal 5I by a button 1I).

When an ignitionapparatus of the character described is assembled, it has been found on various occasions that the alignment of driven shaft I9 and cam shaft 35 are not perfect. This is due to machine operations upon housing 2 I and 20 on separate machines, and when assembling the housings the axis of one housing with respect to the other may be out of alignment a few thousandths of an inch, consequently, the

alignment of the drive shaft I9 and the cam shaft 35 will not be perfect. In order not to scrap the various parts that are not machined to precision, the present invention provides means whereby the loss of these parts are eliminated and provide an ignition apparatus that is entirely efcient in operation. To this end, the cam shaft 35 hangs suspended from the ball bearing 33 and is provided with a reduced portion 10, forming a shoulder 12 on the cam shaft. The shoulder may rest upon the deformed or riveted portion of the shaft I3 that secures the plate 31 thereto in a fixed relation, and provides a bearing surface for the shoulder 12. The cam shaft 35 is provided with a continuation extending within the axial bore 26 of the shaft 25. IIhe continuation has a small bearing member 15 engaging inner circumferences of the bore, the member 15 cooperating with the bore to form a hinge connection between the shaft I3 and 35, this hinge being a point where the axis of the shaft 35 meets the ,axis of the shaft I9 within the bore 20 and indicatedby point A as shown in Fig. 4. The dot-and-dash line Y represents the axis of the shaftIS within the bearing I3 and the line X the axis of the shaft 35 within the vbearing 33. Thus when the cam shaft 35 is assembled with the drive shaft I3 the hinge connection will permit an angular longitudinal movement of the driven shaft 35 with respectto the drive shaft AI 3.

The ball bearing 33 is further held down in position within the portion 32 by a coil spring 30, one end of the spring 30 engaging the inner race of the bearing 33 and the other end engaging a cup-shaped washer 3|. `'I'he washerSI is held in position on the cam shaft 35 by a C-washer 32 fitted into a shoulderv groove provided on the cam shaft. Thus, by this structure, the cup member 30 may be readily removed from the housing 2| without, any special tools other than a `screwdriver and eliminates'disturbing the speed responsive devices in the housing 2 I. The spring 80 takes up the end play of the camv shaft 35.'

When the shaft I3 is rotated by an engine` through the gear 25, the weights 33 will fly out more or lessv according to the speed of the engine to control -the angular relation between the shaft I3 and the cam shaft 35. Should the shafts I3 and 35 be out of perfect alignment, the small bearing surface 'I5 within the axial bore 26 of the shaft I9 will permit an eiiicient operation of the device. An assembly of the shafts out of alignment is shown in Fig. 4. The illustration in Fig. 4 is greatly exaggerated for sake of clearness. It is obvious therefore, that this construction permits assembling the apparatus having two shafts, one shaft piloted within the other,and in which the axis of the two shafts are not in perfect alignment but are capable to operate efficiently and as the part 15 will readily permit relative angular movement of the cam shaft 35 with respect to the driven shaft I9 and allow the speed responsive means to operate in the well known manner. This efficient operation between the two shafts is due to the small bearing member 15 of the cam shaft 35 to form a hinge relation between the shafts I 3 and' 35.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that in the assembly of an ignition apparatus of the character described that the assembly of the two shafts rotatably supported by bearings in different housings to operate in an efficient manner has been effected by means of very simple construction and the cost of manufacture is greatly reduced due to non-scrapping of machined parts and that the arrangement of the shafts with re spect to each other in an angular relation will in no way decrease the eiiiciency of operation of the device or apparatus.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a device of the character described, the

vcombination comprising; a stationary member;

a drive shaft having a coaxial bore journalled in said stationary member; Va second stationary memberadapted to be assembled in different fixed positions upon the first mentioned member and having an axis substantially co-axial with the axis of the first mentioned member; a driven shaft journalled in said second mentioned member, said shaft provided with an integral head and ex,

tending into said bore, the said bore serving in turn as a bearing for said head, said head being constructed so as to permit each of said shafts to rotate about its respective axis independent of the other; and means located between said stationary members for connecting the two shafts so that one drives the other and operablev to rotate one shaft relative to the other.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination comprising; a stationary member; a second stationary member adaptedl to be mounted in fixed positions upon the first mentioned member so that the axis of each member is substantialy co-axial with thatr of ,the other; a bearing for each member, said bearings mounted about the axis of said members; a drive shaft journalled in one of said bearings and a driven shaft journalled` in the other bearing, one of said shafts having a bore and the other shaft having a reduced end provided with an integral head extending into said bore, said bore serving as a bearing for said head and allowing each shaft to rotate about its own axis caused by any non-alignment of the axes of said stationary members; and means connecting said shafts'so that one drives the other and said means operable to rotate one of said shafts slightly relative to the other.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination comprising; a housing; abearing second housing secured to said first mentioned housing; a bearing carried by the second hous` ing; a driven shaft having a head portion extending into the bore of the drive shaft to substantially align the axes of the drive and driven shafts; and speed responsive means located `between said bearings and connecting said shafts so that one drives the other and said means operable to rotate one `of said shafts relativeto the other. v

` 4. In a device of the character described, 4the combination comprising; la stationary member having a bearing; a drive shaft Journaled in said bearing; a second stationary memberhaving a bearing and located with respect to the iirst mentioned member so that the axis of each member is substantially co-axial with that of the other; a driven shaft journaled in said second mentioned bearing, `one of said shafts having a recess and the other having an integral head portion extend-` ing into said recess to s tantially align the axes of said shafts; and speed responsive means located between said stationary members connecting said shafts so that one drives the other andsaid means operable to rotate one of the shafts relative to the other.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination comprising; a bearing; a shaft having a longitudinal bore journalied in the bearing; a second bearing; a second shaft having end portions, one of said end portions journaled in the second mentioned bearing and the other end portion piloted within the bore to permit a slight non-alignment of the shafts; and connecting means intermediate the ends of the second mentioned shaft so that one shaft drives the other.

6. In a device of the character described, the

combination comprising; a bearing a shaft having a longitudinal bore iournaledin said bearing; a second bearing; a second shaft having end portions, one of said end portions journaled inthe second mentioned bearing and the other end portion journaled in the bore of the first mentioned shaft so that the axis of each shaft is substantialiy coaxial with that of the other; and connecting means intermediate the end portions of the second shaft for drlvingly connecting both shafts.

7. In a device ofthe character described, the combination comprising; a bearing; a tubular shaft `Joumaled in said bearing; a second bearing remote from the rst bearing a shaft having an end journaled in the second mentioned bearing and having the other end thereof in contact with the inner surface of the tubular shaft so as to permit a slight non-alignment of the shafts with respect to their axes and allowing each shaft to rotate about their respective axis independent of the other; and means intermediate the ends of the second mentioned shaft for. connecting the two shafts so that one drives the other.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination comprising; a bearing; a shaft having an axial recess journaled in the bearing; a second bearing; a second shaft having one `end Journaled in the second mentioned bearing, the other end of the second mentioned shaft is pro. vided with an enlarged portion adapted to be located within the axial recess to permit a slight non-alignment of the second shaft with respect 'tothe first mentioned shaft; and means intermediate the ends of the second mentioned shaft for connecting the two shafts so that one drives the other, and said means operable to rotate one of the shafts relative to the other. i

JOHN T. r'rrzsmMoNs. 

